Our annual holiday gift shopping guide for golfers and those who adore them (unless they’re taking up four hours to play when they should be shopping for a tree or hanging up lights):

The rangefinders

From my spot on the tee box, there are no golf gadgets more valuable than rangefinders. Knowing the real yardage, not guessing, during a round means everything. It gives you confidence in the shot, it hones your understanding of how you hit each club, and it’s a fine practice tool.

They’re great if you’re a bird watcher, too.

Handfuls of companies have come out with GPS apps for phones and such, but give me a handheld rangefinder anytime, because you can’t get distance on a tree, rock or other target with an app.

The top brands available in golf stores are Bushnell, which has models from $300 to $400, Leupold ($230-$400) and Callaway ($200-$350). Absolutely guaranteed, your golfer will not be disappointed with any of these.

A growing addition to these products are the GPS watches. They don’t have the same capability as a point and shoot, but the convenience of staying on your wrist is a plus. Garmin ($250-$350) and Bushnell ($150) are among the top makers.

The practice tool

Our favorite practice tool we saw this season was the SKLZ Vari-Break custom putting green ($100). What makes this unique is that the putting carpet comes with wedges that are placed underneath to create various breaks. Because, really, how many flat, straight putts do you get? The carpet is big, too – 11 feet by 3 feet.

There’s a bonus to buying something from San Diego-based SKLZ. If you use the SKLZ link on the San Diego Junior Golf website (sdjga.org), you get a 15 percent discount, and $15 percent of the commission goes back to SDJGA.

The headcover

I laughed out loud in the store when I saw the cartoonish Bubba Watson driver headcover by Daphne’s ($30). This one is right out of the Golf Boyz videos -- the overalls, the mop of black hair, the purple visor. The only thing missing is Bubba’s jungle of chest hair and the pout when he misses a shot. Our dog liked Bubba so much I had to bribe her to get him back.

The gadget

The Charter FlatBall practice discs ($7) could be a nice stocking stuffer. This was a new one to me. The package comes with six discs that are one-quarter inch thick. The theory is that if you can hit these in the middle of the clubface, you can better find the sweet spot on your real ball: no more chunks and sculls. This is one of those that falls under the category of: neat idea, if only it were that easy!

The gadget II

Tin Cup Golf (tin-cup.com) came up with a nice idea a few years ago for creating custom ball markings. You insert the ball into a half tin up with a stencil, then use marker to decorate the ball. They’ve come a long way in their variety since then, especially with university and custom logos, and even have a holiday pack of four cups ($95). Individual cups are $20.

The no-brainer

The JC Golf Players Card (jcgolf.com) remains the gift you don’t have to think about or wonder is the right size or color. For $259 (Monday-Friday rounds) or $349 (seven days), golfers get five rounds at any JC courses, one round each at Temecula Creek and Reidy Creek, a free birthday round, and up to 53 percent savings on rounds for a year.

Gifts for women

Only you know the woman golfer in your life, but it’s hard to imagine not finding something at The Ladies Pro Shop website (ladiespro.com). If all else fails, they even have the Bubba headcover.